DAY 2

While Benjamin Eaton was celebrated for bringing water to the enormous ranch, he was equally at odds with the natives who lived in the canyon from which he diverted water.  The native Tongva (also known as the Gabrielinos) struggled to maintain their way of life. The diversion of water thinned their streams, causing the fish population (their food source) to decline. The flora lining the streams changed as well, changing the natural filtration of their drinking water. The Tongva had no deed to the land where the water flowed, and no legal recourse. They were forced to accept the changes to their environs. 

Meanwhile, due to the provision of water to the area, the population of the region began to change.  It became a resort town, and in 1886 was renamed to Pa-sa-de-na (a Chipewa Indian word that means “of the valley”).  That canyon where the Tongva lived, became known as Eaton Canyon, and Benjamin Eaton was crowned “The Father of Pasadena”.  

Years passed, and Benjamin’s son Fred grew up to be the mayor of Los Angeles and later, the Superintendent of the Metropolitan Water District. He hired a young nobody to dig ditches for the water company.  That young man would end up being responsible for tripling Pasadena’s population from 9,000 in 1900 to 30,000 by 1910.  He would set the standard for water import methods across the country.  Come back to find out who that young nobody was!